PHOENIX - Saying its officials have an ulterior motive, Gov. Jan Brewer asked a federal appeals court to ignore the pleas of the Mexican government to keep the state's immigration law from being enforced.

In legal papers filed Wednesday, Brewer said, through her attorney, that Mexico seeks a voice in the legal dispute over SB 1070 based on its contention that keeping Arizona out of the immigration business protects "consistent sovereign-to-sovereign relations" between itself and the United States. The legal brief filed by Mexico also says the country has an interest in protecting the estimated 11 million of its citizens in this country.

But Brewer told the judges that is a smoke screen.

"This court should consider Mexico's arguments in light of its true interest in this dispute, namely its desire for lax enforcement of United States immigration laws and ultimate amnesty for all of the Mexican nationals who are unlawfully present in the United States," attorney John Bouma wrote for the governor. She said the Mexican government is couching that in the guise of "comprehensive immigration reform."

In fact, Brewer said, if she had her way, there wouldn't be any brief for her to fight.

"Mexico and Latin America, I don't believe they belong in our courts," she said. "What they're trying to do is make sure our border is not secure."

Brewer also poked fun at the Mexican government, saying it was filing a "friend of the court" brief.

"They're a friend of the president," the governor said, because she believes it is President Obama who is giving Mexico the go-ahead to try to intercede in "an Arizona issue."

"He gave (Mexican President Felipe) Calderón the forum of the Congress," Brewer said.

The case is technically between the U.S. Department of Justice, which opposes key provisions of SB 1070, and the state.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton in July agreed with Obama administration arguments that some parts the state law appear to be pre-empted by federal law and enjoined their enforcement. A hearing is set for Nov. 1 in San Francisco on Brewer's appeal of that injunction.

Mexico, along with other interested parties on both sides of the issue, have filed "friend of the court" briefs with their own perspectives.

Brewer said much of what Mexico is arguing involves the general importance of positive international relations as well as human and civil rights. And the governor said she does not dispute those principles.

"However, Mexico does not explain how either of these two issues are relevant to the issues before the court," the governor's legal filing said. "Instead, Mexico spends much of its brief engaging in unfounded speculation about the impact of SB 1070."

"Without any basis on the record, Mexico asserts that SB 1070 'will inevitably lead to harassment of Mexicans legally present in the U.S. and appearance-based arrests, giving Mexico justified cause for concern,'" the governor said. She said racial profiling is not an issue in this appeal, only the question of federal pre-emption.

As proof of Mexico's true interest, Brewer and Bouma cite a declaration of Otto Reich, a former ambassador under the Reagan administration and an assistant secretary of state in the administration of George W. Bush.

He said many foreign countries "would prefer to see the U.S. border remain as open as possible to allow the exportation of surplus labor," and that Latin American countries "favor amnesty so that those unlawfully present can continue to send money to their friends and family back home."

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